US Central Command says proxy groups launched attacks against US bases and Saudi energy infrastructure.

Iraqi security and emergency personnel work at the scene of a strike in Muqdadiyah, Diyala province on Wednesday Saudi Arabia and the US have carried out strikes against Iran-backed militias in Iraq, in a potential escalation of the Middle East conflict. US Central Command (Centcom) said the strikes were against "Iran-aligned terrorists that the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) directed to attack US forces and Saudi energy infrastructure". Iraq's paramilitary Popular Mobilisation Forces (PMF), which is dominated by Iran-backed Shia militias, said at least 20 of its members had been killed in US-Saudi strikes on its bases. It came hours after Centcom said Iran had launched missiles at US forces in the Middle East in an "attempted surprise attack", ending a lull in hostilities. The US said the Iranian attack occurred at 17:45 EDT (21:45 GMT) on Tuesday, with all missiles "successfully intercepted". The IRGC said the missiles had targeted a US air base and a command centre in Jordan "in response to the acts of aggression of the American child-killing army". It also said that naval forces had struck three oil tankers in the Strait of Hormuz after they "ignored warnings" and sailed along what it described as an "unsafe and illegal route" through the vital Gulf waterway.